Denise Jean
Jamieson ’ 92 (MPH)
had her first encounter
with the dire impact of
the AIDS crisis in 1996.

“I was studying atUC-San Francisco andI did a rotation inMzuzu in Malawi,”Jamieson recalls. “Atthat time, 30 percent ofthe women were HIV-infected. It was so realand so devastating that I realized I wanted towork on this problem.”After finishing her medical degree, Jamiesonbecame an officer in the U.S. Public HealthService and went to work at the Centers forDisease Control and Prevention, where shebegan to untangle the many factors affectingHIV and pregnancy.

As HIV-AIDS treatments improved, Jamieson
investigated the effect of antiretroviral drugs on
mothers and their newborn babies. On a return
trip to Malawi for the CDC, Jamieson’s team
conducted a large, randomized trial and demonstrated that mothers can safely take the drugs.

“With treatment during pregnancy, the riskof transmission is around 1 percent,” Jamiesonsays. “While breastfeeding, the mother can takethe drugs and it will help protect the baby; ordrugs can be given directly to the baby.”At University Day in October, UNC pre-sented Jamieson with a Distinguished AlumnaAward in recognition of her work.

Being at the CDC took Jamieson in some

Researchers
seek to halt
the spread of
HIV and AIDS
by treating
mother and
child

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION

Denise Jamieson ’ 92 (MPH), with a study
team in Lilongwe, Malawi, above, received a
Distinguished Alumni Award from UNC for her
work with HIV-infected pregnant women.

she was Chicken Little, but I read and found outthat there was a real threat and it was going todisproportionately affect pregnant women,”Jamieson says. The CDC developed guidelinesrelated to H1N1 influenza, vaccine and preg-nancy. “Just as first cases of H1N1 began toappear, we used the guidelines, work we haddone prior to the outbreak, to provide guidanceduring the pandemic.”Jamieson continues to battle misconceptionsabout flu vaccination.Vaccination rates are inch-ing up, but Jamieson says they’re not where theyshould be. “People don’t realize we have a lot ofsafety data for mothers. The vaccination canprovide protection for babies for up to sixmonths, until they can be vaccinated.”unusual directions. “At CDC people know I ama practicing obstetrician, so they call me whenthey see problems,” Jamieson says. “For example,monkey pox — people adopted prairie dogs whohad this and then it affected pregnant moms.Someone asked, ‘What do you know about this?’So I started learning about it and got involved.”The H1N1 — more commonly called birdflu — pandemic drew Jamieson to the problemof influenza protection.

In addition to her CDC research, Jamieson
teaches at Emory University and works as a volunteer physician at Grady Hospital. “I couldn’t
do one without the other. I also do a lot of
work for ACOG [American College of
Obstetricians and Gynecologists], which has a
huge impact on practicing physicians, setting
the guidelines that are used by clinicians.

“In maybe 2006, Dr. Sonja Rasmussen saidwe need to think about this. At first I thought“And, one more important piece,” she says: “Ihave 5-year-old twin boys. I do have my handsfull.”